{"id":2000,"date":"2015-09-08T10:34:42","date_gmt":"2015-09-08T16:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=2000"},"modified":"2020-11-25T11:14:04","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T17:14:04","slug":"euphemisms-lying-to-us-gently","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/definitions\/euphemisms-lying-to-us-gently\/","title":{"rendered":"Euphemisms: Lying to Us Gently"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s talk about euphemisms, those soothing words meant to assure us that something\u2019s not as bad as we know it is. A euphemism is a lullaby, a sedative, a velvet glove enfolding reality\u2019s iron fist. In a way, the word euphemism<\/em> is itself a euphemism\u2014so much kinder and gentler than cop-out<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Euphemisms are employed for many reasons, some of them nobler than others. The ultimate euphemism is pass away<\/em>. \u201cHe passed away\u201d sounds peaceful, effortless. \u201cHe\u2019s dead\u201d is a two-syllable gut punch.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, there are those who are temperamentally unsuited for hiding stark truths behind fluffy words. In the 1944 film This Happy Breed<\/em> a patriarch tells his family: \u201cMother died. She didn\u2019t pass on, pass over, or pass out. She died<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

A euphemism can transform a narcissist into a temperamental perfectionist<\/em>, a bigot into a traditionalist<\/em>, or an unhinged demagogue into a passionate idealist<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not surprising that we find some really clever euphemisms in politics, where double-talkers known as spin doctors<\/em> speak of collateral damage<\/em> and enhanced interrogation<\/em>. It\u2019s not an invasion, it\u2019s an intervention<\/em> or an incursion<\/em> or sometimes an uncontested arrival<\/em>. Terrorists are freedom fighters<\/em>\u2014if they\u2019re on our side. Our opponents lie; our allies may have misspoken<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Then there are those Wall Street peculators whose malfeasance still has the country reeling. The financial world likes to couch its mischief in opaque phrases like subprime mortgage bonds<\/em> and collateralized debt obligations<\/em>. One of our favorite Wall Street euphemisms is overleveraged<\/em>, a mealy-mouthed term for expanding too fast, borrowing too much, and defaulting on the debt.<\/p>\n

Alcohol\u2019s prominent and often problematic place in society has given rise to many colorful euphemisms: Bertie is lit up like Broadway<\/em>. He just got back from the old watering hole<\/em>. He was talking to John Barleycorn<\/em>. Now he\u2019s got his wobbly boots on<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Here are a few more choice euphemisms, some common, others less so:<\/p>\n

Nail technician<\/strong>\u00a0 A manicurist.<\/p>\n

Hair stylist<\/strong>\u00a0 Are there still barbers?<\/p>\n

Personnel surplus reduction<\/strong>\u00a0 Means you\u2019re fired.<\/p>\n

Sampling<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cThe process of taking brief segments of sound (from a song, movie or elsewhere) and using that sound to form another sound or musical piece.\u201d That\u2019s how UrbanDictionary.com defines sampling<\/em>. We can define it in one word: stealing.<\/p>\n

But the winner by a landslide \u2026<\/p>\n

Atlantic triangular trade<\/strong>\u00a0 A few years ago the Texas State Board of Education voted to use this Machiavellian phrase in history textbooks to replace slave trade<\/em>.<\/p>\n

When it comes to euphemism-wielding prevaricators, the Texas State Board of Education is in a class by itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s talk about euphemisms, those soothing words meant to assure us that something\u2019s not as bad as we know it is. A euphemism is a lullaby, a sedative, a velvet glove enfolding reality\u2019s iron fist. In a way, the word euphemism is itself a euphemism\u2014so much kinder and gentler than cop-out. Euphemisms are employed for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,12,25,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-definitions","category-effective-writing","category-humor","category-vocabulary"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}